IntheMiddle with Team Picture

Having already played at DIY’s ‘Hello 2018’ gig, Team Picture are set to make a big impact this year. Inspired by Biggie’s story in ‘Notorious’ on the way to the gig, the “pride and power” it gave them for the night is sure to be carried on into the rest of the year…

Their recently released track ‘(I Have A) Little Secret’, produced by Matt Peel, has caused a slight shift in their musical direction, with a much heavier 80s influence than previous tracks. The song opens with gentle vocals and a creeping guitar riff before exploding into an electronically-infused, reverb-filled fuzz. Whilst speaking to Josh he said that after putting the synth-bass down on the track they’d reached “a point of no return”. They were going to make it “as wall-to-wall 80s as possible or pack up and go home”.

Sometimes you need to stimulate more than one sense to keep people engaged throughout a show, especially in an age of the modern internet consumer. Team Picture have accepted this and provide not only a musical treat but also a visual spectacle during their performances.

The band played in Oporto on Valentine’s Day, one of a number of thriving independent venues in Leeds. Whilst talking about more unknown venues in Leeds, Josh suggested a visit to Live Art Bistro if you want something that will “expand your mind or repulse you”. “There’s loads always popping up, I saw some alternative comedy in someone’s basement the other day which just shows that it doesn’t take a lot of resources to set up a venue and do something interesting. There’s a lot of that happening in Leeds.” Of course, whilst discussing Leeds’s music community Josh brought up Brudenell Social Club as the “throne room” of music in Leeds, along with other venues such as Wharf Chambers and Hyde Park Book Club. These venues are fuelled by the never-ending number of amazing artists coming out of the city. In Leeds there seems to be almost too many bands to choose from as “everyone’s in a band a little bit”. Despite this, Josh described the community amongst the artists in Leeds as having “zero competition” as “everyone is quite understanding that everyone is doing something different”.

Sometimes you need to stimulate more than one sense to keep people engaged throughout a show, especially in an age of the modern internet consumer. Team Picture have accepted this and provide not only a musical treat but also a visual spectacle during their performances. Their shows typically involve a series of lo-fi visuals projected onto retro television sets straight out of the 80s. After speaking to Josh, he described their visual stage design as a “historical process”, each show they improve and integrate it further with the audio experience. The band are clearly still developing both in their sound and image.

Not that pursuing a musical career isn’t hard enough but the band also all have full-time jobs to go along with it. Unlike some bands aspiring to “make it big”, it seems that Team Picture all have jobs outside the project which they are also passionate about. Josh said that “a couple of us are in a position where day jobs are something that allow you to pursue things that you really love”. Despite this, Josh made it obvious how hard but rewarding working what he describes as “two full time jobs four days a week” is. “You don’t really think about it when you’re doing it because it’s just the best thing in the world to be making music with people you really care about. It’s absolutely knackering but it’s something that I totally wouldn’t sacrifice.”

There’s still plenty more to come from Team Picture this year. In Josh’s words they’ve got “new stuff to hear, a couple of things to see and hopefully a couple of things to touch”. Check out their new single below.